Sisters of Silence
The Sisters of Silence are an ancient all-female order of psychic Blanks; beings that have no presence in the warp and are often referred to as soulless. As per the title of their order, fully inducted members of this Sisterhood have taken a vow of silence and communicate only through sign language. Originally commanded by the Emperor in conjunction with his Adeptus Custodes, the Sisters of Silence were his supreme weapon against psykers, daemons, and powers of the warp. During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy the Silent Sisterhood was a large Imperium-spanning organisation, and were amongst the Emperor's most ardent followers. However after the Horus Hersy and the Emperor's internment into the Golden Throne the Sisters of Silence became disillusioned with the increasingly dogmatic & ignorant Imperium and simply broke away, forming independant enclaves across the galaxy. In M41 the Sisters of Silence are an incredibly rare sight, and without the support of the Imperium only exist in small groups & orders scattered across Imperial & independant space. Despite this they are still utterly loyal to the Emperor and opposed to Chaos, and have been known to appear where moest needed against the powers of the warp. Sisters of Silence in Sector Deus A scant handful of Silent Sisters are known to operate within Sector Deus from unknown & hidden safehouses on both Imperial and independant worlds. Occasional reports crop up of shunned outcast girls (presumably blanks) being taken by robed women, and stories of golden-armoured angels appearing to vanquish daemons are a popular legend on Malta. More typically they are sighted in pursuit of rogue psykers, hunting these dangerous renegades down in their ceaseless quest to defend humanity from the warp as the Emperor wished. The only official interaction they are known to have with the local Imperium is with the Adeptus Astra Telepathica on Recludius where they deposit rogue psykers that they have hunted down & apprehended, and to receive intel on other psychic fugitives or other warpborne threats. However it is assumed that Inquisitors have some contact with them now. The Sisters tend to travel in pairs, consisting of one avowed Null Maiden and one squire-like Novicate that supports them, learns from them, and translates their sign language for them when talking to others. However multiple pairs of Sisters have been ovserved when tackling harder problems like powerful daemons & psykers. How exactly they maintain their armour & weapons and travel around the Sector is unknown, but they are assumed to have powerful allies & benefactors amongst the Inquisition, Telepathica, and AdMech amongst others, and are likely able to receive substantial rewards from various private entities in exchange for their psyker hunting efforts. However as the Sisters of Silence are proscribed as heathens by the Ecclesiarchy for denying the Emperor's divinity, such agreements and alliances are kept highly secret. Personnel 'Recruitment & Training' In the Great Crusade the Sisters of Silence were recruited in large amounts from blank girls across the Imperium, ensuring the Silent Sisterhood remained strong and numerous in the Emperor's campaign to reunite humanity. These Sisters were amalgamanted into great Orders, each of which had their own heraldry, colours, and command systerm. In M41 the Silent Sisterhood recruits however they can, often searching through outcast populations like underhivers & the homeless in search of young blank girls & women to induct. These recruits are taken in to the Sisterhood's safehouses and strongholds, where they are instilled with the Sisterhoods beliefs and tutored to control their Null Field as well as highly trained in the arts of combat. These Novicate Sisters have not taken vows of silence - though they are taught the Sisterhood's complex sign language so that they may communicate-with and translate-for their seniors. After basic training these Novicates are often attached to full Null Maidens to serve in a Squire-like role, honing their skills in the field under an experienced Sister. Once a Novicate is ready - or more often, when an ultra-rate suit of Vratine-pattern Armour becomes available - she will take her Vow of Tranquility, swearing to never again utter a word, and ascend to full Null Maiden of the Sisters of Silence. 'Religion' The Sisters of Silence have always practiced a deep reverence of the Emperor, while denying that he is divine. The Silent Sisterhood share this belief with many of the Adeptus Astartes, the belief that the Emperor was the greatest of us all but still a man, not a god. The Sisters of Silence are perhaps more qualified than anyone to actually make this claim, as they were among the Emperor's most favoured companions during his mortal rule. Despite the fact that the Emperor himself was a psyker, he was of such incredible power that the presence of the Sisters of Silence did not phase him. Despite not believing in his divinity, the Silent Sisterhood were and are amongst the most ardent and fierce followers of the Emperor of Mankind, believing utterly in his vision for mankind and prepared to lay down anything and everything necessary for him. However their beliefs directly contradicted with the sprading Imperial Cult of the Ecclesiarchy. The Sisters of Silence grew disillusioned and believed that the Emperor's vision had been betrayed, and so broke away from the Imperium and fell from most knowledge and presence, hiding amongst the peripheries of humanity. In the millennia since the Ecclesiarchy's grasp has only increased, and the Sisters of Silence are now considered - officially at least - dangerous fringe heathens who should not be associated with. Of course this does not discourage certain factions & individuals with need for the Silent Sisterhood, but it prevents them from operating openly or en masse. 'Abilities' Full Null Maidens are highly trained in controlling the Null Field that emanates from any blank. Though mysterious & ancient teachings, Sisters of Silence are able to both suppress & amplify their Null Fields as needed. This allows them to move more closely around normal people without disturbing them during their psyker-hunts (though nearby psykers will always be affected), or conversely weaken even the strongest connection to the warp. Novicates naturally vary in their ability to control their Null Field, depending on how far along in their training they are. Full Sisters are also highly skilled in combat, trained in a vast variety of weapons many of which utilise ancient Sisterhood techniques and combat forms. Many of the weapons they use are also optimised to combat the powers of the warp, and the Sisters are well versed in the nature of an enemy's psychic powers as well. As crack shots, expert melee warriors, and skilled trackers, Sisters of Silence are the premiere psyker hunters in the Galaxy (save perhaps Culexus Assassins). 'Heirarchy' While they once had a rigid military heirarchy of many ranks, in M41 the scattered & sparse sisterhood has just a few broad categories of seniority *'Oblivion Knight-Centura' - The most accomplished & experienced Silent Sisters and often the figurehead for a number of enclaves and hundreds of Sisters. Oblivion Knight-Centuras are warrior and commander both, and have peerless knowledge in combating the warp. *'Oblivion Knight' - Only the best warriors of the Sisterhood are promoted to Oblivion Knight, and these are often the most senior Sisters in typical small enclaves of a few dozen. A fearless warrior with immense skill at arms, an Oblivion Knight will have apprehended or eliminated dozens of psykers & sorcerers in their time. *'Sister Superior' - A rank awarded through general experience over most of their Sisters. Sister Superiors are designated as squad leaders of other Null Maidens should multiples be deployed in one location. *'Null Maiden' - A vowed Sister of Silence and the 'typical' member of the Sisterhood. Clad in gleaming Vratine Armour and extremely skilled with bolter & blade, Null Maidens haunt the nightmares of rogue psykers across the galaxy. *'Novicate' - Trainess that have not taken a vow of silence. Novicates train & meditate in Sisterhood redoubts as well as directly beneath single Null Maidens, and the traditional ancient methods of the Silent Sisterhood gives them remarkable control over their own Null Field as well as exceptional combat & pursuit skills. Equipment 'Armour' Sisters of Silence are most well known for their stark gold power armour. Though historically different Orders could add variations to their armour colours, in M41 they mostly revert to the Sisterhood's standard golden colour as they are rarely arranged in large enough numbers to form entire Orders. The Sisterhood's power armour is known as Vratine-pattern Armour, and is uniquely used by them and only them. This advanced power armour is as strong and resilient as any, though sacrifices an evironmental seal and other auxiliary functions in order to retain a peerless agility & dexterity that suits the Sister's combat style. Unable to match the strength of their often biologically or warp enhanced foes, the Silent Sisterhood's combat style focuses on speed and precision to land a quick killing blow and Vratine Armour completements this perfectly. Covered in ornate detailing and Imperial motifs, Vratine Armour often includes a large cape and has a distinctive eagle pauldron. The helmet is made of a lower grille that covers the mouth and nose (symbolising the Sister's vow of silence) and a removable upper portion that encompasses the rest of the head. The upper helmet also features a port for the Sister's large topknot, which is an extremely common hairstyle amongst them for traditional reasons. Vratine Armour is stupendously rare in M41 and Silent Sisterhood enclaves jealously hoard any suits they can get their hands on. Only the finest Magi of the Adeptus Mechanicus are capable of crafting new suits, and the Sisterhood is only rarely able to wrangle such a service even with the backing of unknown Inquisitors. Only Null Maidens and above wear Vratine Armour. Novicates & Squires instead typically wear polished carapace and other lesser armour, and only once a suit of Vratine Armour becomes available could a fully trained Novicate ascend to Null Maiden. 'Weapons' In their current underequipped state Sisters of Silence are known to use whatever weapons they can aquire for the task at hand, from chainswords to sniper rifles. However their favoured doctrine of rapid close quarters pursuit & assault (where their Null Field has most effect) means they have a number of favoured weapons. The ubiquitous Boltgun is the Sisterhood's favoured ranged weapon and they often use very old and highly decorative Umbra-pattern Bolters that can be millennia old, or sometimes a pair of Umbra-pattern Bolt Pistols. Other favoured ranged weapons include flamers and grenade & missile launchers loaded with Psyk-out grenades & missiles. The Sisters hoard Pysk-out weapons in as large a number as they can, usually acquiring them through Inquisitors or the Telepathica, as these warp nulling weapons are invaluable in the war against the warp. In melee the Sisters of Silence show a preference for large power swords known as Executioner Greatblades - a unique design of two-handed power weapon the Sisters wield with impressive dexterity and a combat form developed and taught only by the Sisterhood. Large enough to cleave an Astartes in two and with potent power fields able to penetrate Terminator Armour with ease, these lethal yet graceful weapons are just as hard to acquire as Vratine Armour but have caused the deaths of countless Sorcerers & Psykers that thought themselves armoured beyond harm. However using an Executioner Greatblade severely hampers a Sister's ability to use ranged weapons. Sisters equipped for ranged combat therefore tend to equip Power Axes and Power Blades as backup melee weapons instead. They also make use of the full Imperial arsenal of pistols as well, and while most have bolt pistols as sidearms some use plasma pistols, hand flamers or even inferno pistols instead. 'Other' The Silent Sisterhood once made use of the most potent vehicles of war including grav-Rhinos & jetbikes. In M41 they make do with whatever they can acquire & maintain, though seem to favour warbikes and other small, swift vehicles optimised for pusuing fleeing quarries. As psyker pursuit experts Silent Sisters are known to use beasts such as Cyber-Mastiffs and Steeltalon Hawks to track their prey, and commonly carry rune-warded manacles & psy-suppressant drugs to restrain their targets if taken alive (only so the rogue psyker can serve a greater purpose as nourishment for the Emperor).